I was a newbie to the industry when I started, and I was a self-taught Designer. Fast forward to today, and I've now been in the creative industry as a Designer for little over 16 years.

With 11 years of design knowledge and experience, I want to share 5 truths of being a Digital Designer, with 5 takeaway learning tips. Find out more >

Earlier this year I was a finalist in the Cambridgeshire Digital Awards 2016 in the Creative and Marketing category. When I found out I was a finalist I had mixed emotions, I was over the moon, but I was also nervous, scared and a little worried if I am honest.

What do I say? How will I introduce myself? Other finalists are in teams, I will be all alone, will anyone talk to me? - All these questions ran through my head and as an introvert I am awful at networking, especially when it comes to talking about my business, so I decided this is something I need to work on.

That is where this post comes into play. I can’t be the only introvert, or the only person to struggle when it comes to networking, so I wanted to share my tips on how I overcame, or rather dealt with, the issues and how you can as well.

As much as I love being able to create a new brand and website design from scratch, I really enjoy the challenge of redesigning or revamping an existing brand and website.

After working on the WellbeingZone brand and website I was asked to redesign the logo and website for Revitalised.

Obviously, I wasn't going to decline! - It was my pleasure to give the Revitalised brand and website design (coming soon) a new look and feel.

As a small business owner you probably have your logo and brand elements in place, using them in various places - your website, business cards, invoices, and much more. Things are going well and you are keeping busy running your day to day tasks, networking and finding new clients. As time progresses you realise your business branding may need a revamp or you may need to rebrand altogether. You are just not sure!

Sound familiar?

Quite a few small business owners have come across this dilemma and so today I wanted to share a few do's and don'ts of rebranding.

When I first started blogging I fell in love, I was writing articles whenever I got the chance. I had so much to share I wanted others to learn what I had learnt too. I slowly noticed I gained a following. All of this was unintentional at the time.

I continued as I started and was offered a guest author position to write articles for a leading online magazine and resources site for designers and developers. At this point, I was over the moon as something I enjoyed doing was helping others.

Since then I have revamped my brand and website, and have even taken on a guest post on my own website as well.

I set up my website over a year ago on Squarespace and I haven't looked back. Squarespace is just such a great platform I can't rant and rave about it enough. Many moons ago I used Wordpress for my website, but I got bored and found it tedious to continuously keep with.

YAY!! My freelance side hustle business - Krishna Solanki Designs - is a finalist for Marketing and Creative category in the Cambridgeshire Digital Awards 2016. Read more about the categories here >

It's crazy how things can all happen at once. The last time I wrote anything on my blog and business was before my family holiday and that was already 3 weeks ago (or was it 4 weeks ago?). It's gone so quickly that I haven't even had time to breath and settle back into work/life. I guess that's the reality of a side hustling business owner with a family. I'm not complaining at all but just sharing why I have been MIA for a while.

I have lots of lovely updates to share and also lots of new things to reveal in the next few weeks so keep your eyes peeled for lots of interesting emails coming your way!

In the meantime, here's the super-duper down low on the latest on things going at the KSD headquarters! :)

I started blogging just over a year ago when I decided to take my freelance business more seriously and officially set up as a small business. Before then I had a blog, with my old portfolio, and I loved writing but I found I never kept up with posting as much as I wanted, and so I stopped blogging altogether.

That was a big mistake!

Looking back at that time and also taking on board the learnings of the past year as a small business owner, I wanted to share 7 reasons to why you should blog.

To run a successful business it is essential to understand the importance of feedback and communication with a client or customer. Sometimes it is easy, other times it is challenging, it is not usually the same with every client, so one rule fits all doesn't really apply.

One thing that I have learnt being a Designer, is that my clients have always wanted to share their thoughts and input with regards to their project - Too right as well as they are, after all, paying for a service and will receive a product - branding, a website or both!

In today's post, I want to share 5 helpful tips to improve your feedback and communication with your client or customer.

A website is an essential part of every business's online presence - especially in this day and age. Because it is such an important asset to your company's brand and overall image it is important to make sure your website works for you. That is why I am sharing 10 essential web design tips with you today.

A logo is something every business should have. It really is as simple as that.

What isn't as simple is where to get a logo from... so this article covers 5 tips to help you design your own logo and get it right. Read more>

As a small business owner, startup founder, entrepreneur or side hustler your business will definitely benefit from an online presence. Choosing a platform that works for you doesn't have to be hard. You want something simple, easy to use and easy to maintain, right?

Well my friend, today I am giving you 10 reasons why Squarespace is the best platform for you and your business.

For a lot of solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, or side hustlers running your business is usually done working from home - whether that's a nice little office set up in a corner of your home, or on the sofa every evening with your laptop on a cushion in front of you. Staying productive, motivated and managing your time is something that all business owners need to stay on top of so as tempting as it sounds to be able to stay in your PJ's, have a lazy start to the day and spend hours on social media websites - networking of course! - you still need to integrate some structure and routine into your daily working from home routine.

I've managed to improve my schedule and manage my time in the past year and today I wanted to share my top tips on sticking to the rules, staying productive and being motivated to keep on top of it all.

If you have taken the leap into setting up your business online and made the decision that you want to start gathering email addresses, then this post is for you.

There are a bunch of ways to take your next step, however, this post will guide you through the basics of setting up and integrating your Squarespace and MailChimp accounts.

Wow! My first full year as a business owner is complete!

...So many questions, so many hesitations! But one thing was for sure, I enjoy doing what I do and that is designing! Read more about my first year learnings >>>

When setting up your business from scratch and considering all the elements that need designing or redesigning it's easy to think you can try and do it yourself, but, do you know how to create a logo, brand or website? Do you have the time and knowledge to dedicate to creating something professional?

Today I want to share 10 reasons why you should hire a professional designer - like me.

Single page websites are a big hit. They have been for a while now. Effective, straight to the point and they can be visually very appealing, especially if kept on brand (which they should be!).

Sometimes with startups, small businesses or side hustle businesses, there isn't an overload of information that needs to be shared so keeping it short and sweet and on one page could be the perfect solution.

When I first set up my website I knew what pages I wanted. I knew I wanted a Portfolio, a Blog, an About me, and a Work With Me page detailing my packages and process, and obviously a Homepage. It was quite straight forward. All the pages were quite self-explanatory, but when it came to actually detailing these pages I was surprisingly stuck on what to write on my "About me" page.

Ok so you have made the decision and you are going ahead with building your website in Squarespace. AWESOME! Squarespace is a brilliant platform, it's really user-friendly, easy to set up, simple to maintain and it's affordable.

Another great feature of Squarespace is the templates. They are designed well and present information, photos, products and more in a flexible and beautiful way. There isn't a huge list of templates to choose from, but it can be daunting none the less trying to choose the perfect template.

I know, I have been there. It can all get a bit much sifting through the different templates trying to work out which one you like and if it is best suited for you.

Well, that's where this post comes in. I want to share some key points you should consider when choosing your Squarespace template.